Arc 71The Hidden River Inheritance

Li Yan followed Yan Qingchen into a hidden realm beneath the river, where Yan betrayed his companions and clashed with the Ming sisters before escaping. Li Yan joined the sisters to enter a sealed cave residence, but they became trapped in a magical treasure and could not overcome its straw guardians.

  • Li Yan entered the Ancient Hall of Inheritance, searched its chambers and hidden terrain, then followed Yan Qingchen and four cultivators into an abyss.
  • Yan Qingchen lured his companions into helping him break the Hidden Reef Formation, then trapped them with his alms bowl, drained their power, and entered the concealed realm alone.
  • Yan Qingchen ambushed Ming Qi and Ming Yu by the river, but Li Yan struck from hiding and helped the sisters force him to flee.
  • Li Yan spared the Ming sisters and learned they sought an inheritance for their clan, then led them to the purple shell containing a hidden passage.
  • Li Yan, Ming Qi, and Ming Yu made a blood contract, opened the formation, and entered a sunlit cave residence whose courtyard wall concealed a dangerous boundary.
  • The trio encountered straw men whose powerful attacks drove them back, and Li Yan discovered that the courtyard was contained within a magical treasure.
  • Li Yan and the sisters tried answering the straw guardian’s question and testing the courtyard walls, but every attempt brought another attack and no escape.
  • After three days of failed attempts, Li Yan found Ming Yu still returning to answer the guardian and examined the southern wall, sensing darkness beyond it.
Chapters 1751–1775 Vol. 18 Read

Ch. 1751Dawn Breeze Along Willow Banks

Li Yan waited with Yellow Qi Valley’s elite disciples for the ancient inheritance hall to open, while keeping his distance from the Ming sisters and observing the other groups. Ming Qi suspected he concealed a powerful cultivation level, and Yan Qingchen privately urged his hired companions to help him find a specific item inside.

  • Li Yan arrived at the lakeshore gathering and reflected on the difficult requirements for entering the ancient inheritance hall.
  • Li Yan exchanged distant greetings with the Ming sisters and recognized Ming Yu’s surprise at seeing him.
  • Ming Yu questioned whether Li Yan possessed Void Refinement methods, and Ming Qi suspected he had a hidden treasure and at least peak late Spirit Transformation cultivation.
  • Yan Qingchen reminded his four companions to stay together and promised to honor their conditions if they helped him find an item.
  • Liu Siyu affirmed that Yan Qingchen would keep his promises, while the others concealed their disdain for her affection toward him.

Ch. 1752The Ancient Hall Is Not Far Away

Li Yan boarded the boat bound for the Ancient Hall of Inheritance and learned that its formation checked each passenger’s identity token. After the boat passed through the island’s forest, it continued into dense trees rather than revealing the hall, leaving Li Yan and other first-time visitors uncertain about what lay ahead.

  • Liu Siyu defended accepting deposits as fair payment for a risky transaction, easing Yan Qingchen’s expression.
  • A huge pleasure boat emerged from the lake’s central island, and a white-robed woman ordered the gathered cultivators aboard.
  • Li Yan boarded and saw his identity token briefly rise as the boat’s formation verified the passengers.
  • The white-robed woman activated the boat, which sped across the lake and entered the island through a parting wall of trees.
  • The boat continued through dense forest after entering the island, and Li Yan realized the Ancient Hall of Inheritance had not yet appeared.

Ch. 1753Layer Upon Layer of Defenses

Li Yan and the other cultivators endured a disorienting journey through Yellow Qi Valley’s shifting forest before the boat passed through a curtain of waterfalls into a gloomy wilderness of endless purple lavender. They searched for the ancient inheritance hall as the boat sped onward, but its location remained unknown.

  • The boat traveled through a seemingly endless forest that parted before its prow, while the unchanging scenery and uncertain passage of time unsettled the passengers.
  • Li Yan reasoned that Yellow Qi Valley’s route concealed the hall’s true distance and deliberately wore down travelers’ emotions.
  • The forest abruptly gave way to waterfalls, and the boat passed through their torrent into a dark, clouded wilderness covered in purple lavender.
  • Li Yan and the other passengers searched the strange landscape, but detected no other living beings or signs of the ancient inheritance hall.
  • Cultivators exchanged anxious voice transmissions and wondered whether the place was a ghost domain, while the woman in white continued to say nothing.

Ch. 1754Ancient Hall Inheritance

Li Yan and the other cultivators arrived at the Ancient Hall of Inheritance after a purple storm swept away their boat. The white-robed woman explained the hall’s three-month limit and began describing how they could seek enlightenment from its statue, while the disciples stood before the vast palace.

  • Li Yan and the other cultivators waited aboard the boat as it crossed the endless purple expanse.
  • The white-robed woman announced their arrival, and a purple gale engulfed the boat before it vanished and left them on solid ground.
  • Li Yan and the others found themselves before a vast palace filled with yellow light, crimson cloud-patterned pillars, and a statue of the Supreme Pure Moral Heavenly Venerable.
  • The white-robed woman told the disciples they had three months to seek opportunities, warned that some might die, and said the hall offered two places to obtain inheritance.
  • The white-robed woman explained that disciples could meditate four hundred and ninety-nine zhang from the statue and seek insight from the yellow light and its Dao principles.

Ch. 1755Waiting for an Opportunity to Leave

Li Yan entered Yellow Qi Valley’s ancient inheritance hall and searched its side chambers for a lead on the Clear Moon Immortal Grass. After inspecting the chambers, he stepped onto a hidden stairway behind the statue as white light enveloped him.

  • The woman in white explained the inheritance hall’s statue, restricted side chambers, dangers, and three-month time limit, then disappeared.
  • Li Yan suspected the sect had opened only part of the hall and worried that the Clear Moon Immortal Grass might not be among the treasures outside it.
  • Li Yan saw the side chambers labeled with different arts and stopped at the Spirit Plants chamber, where he comprehended its door restriction for five days before leaving.
  • Li Yan reached the rear of the hall and stepped onto stairs hidden behind the statue, where white light suddenly surrounded him.

Ch. 1756Strange Movements

Li Yan searched the vast lands outside the ancient inheritance hall for Moon-Haze Clear Immortal Grass but found little of value. While secretly following four Spirit Transformation cultivators, he discovered Yan Qingchen had been concealed among them, and chose to keep tracking the group.

  • Li Yan explored a stormy bamboo grove, a snowfield, and abandoned spirit fields, finding no Moon-Haze Clear Immortal Grass.
  • Li Yan avoided other cultivators and began using concealment techniques as he continued searching remote terrain.
  • Li Yan detected four cautious Spirit Transformation cultivators and secretly followed them for several days.
  • The four solidified near a hill, revealing Liu Siyu and three other cultivators Li Yan recognized.
  • Li Yan saw Yan Qingchen step out from Liu Siyu's shadow and realized he had been concealed among the group all along.
  • Li Yan suppressed his shock, concluded Yan Qingchen used a powerful concealment technique or treasure, and decided to keep following the five.

Ch. 1757Hidden Place

Yan Qingchen led Liu Siyu and three other cultivators into a hidden abyss beneath a vast thicket, claiming his master had discovered a sealed place there. Li Yan secretly followed them, and after the group changed direction deep underground, he continued tracking them cautiously.

  • A long-bearded cultivator questioned whether Yan Qingchen's hidden formation could have escaped discovery, and Yan defended his account while warning the group not to act recklessly.
  • Yan Qingchen opened a narrow entrance beneath the brambles and descended into the darkness, followed by Liu Siyu and the other three cultivators.
  • Li Yan watched the group enter, learned through his Divine Sense that an abyss lay far below, and decided to follow them without revealing himself.
  • Li Yan slipped through the dense brambles, descended into the cavern, and tracked the group's spiritual power from a safe distance.
  • The group's spiritual power halted and then changed direction after they exchanged messages, so Li Yan waited before continuing after them.

Ch. 1758What Is Their Purpose?

Li Yan followed Yan Qingchen’s group into the abyss, where Yan Qingchen led them to a small tree on a cliff and began casting a complex spell. Elsewhere, the Ming sisters explored a radiant river inside a hidden realm, still searching for clues before their time in the Ancient Hall of Inheritance ran out.

  • Li Yan discovered that Yan Qingchen’s group had changed direction in the abyss and paused to examine their surroundings.
  • Yan Qingchen led Liu Siyu and the three other cultivators to a small tree growing from a cliff face.
  • The Ming sisters continued exploring the glowing river and discussed whether its hidden realm might offer safety after the Ancient Hall of Inheritance closed.
  • Yan Qingchen cast spell seals onto distinct points around the small tree while the others watched and waited.
  • Liu Siyu noticed that the spell seals formed a larger pattern and that thirteen points remained unfilled.

Ch. 1759Ancient Formation Appears

Yan Qingchen revealed a hidden reef formation concealed in the cliff and explained that it guarded a place likely to contain treasure. The group agreed to take turns trying to break it, with Yan Qingchen reserving first choice of treasure if they had to break it together.

  • Yan Qingchen dispelled the concealment and exposed a diamond-shaped entrance, which Senior Brother Zheng recognized as a rare hidden reef formation.
  • Yan Qingchen explained that the formation was difficult to break and urged the group to act quickly while he checked for anyone approaching.
  • Senior Brother Zheng agreed to try first and asked to choose one treasure ahead of the others if he broke the formation.
  • Yan Qingchen agreed that whoever broke the formation first could choose one item, but set a two-hour limit for each attempt and claimed first choice if they broke it together.
  • Cultivator Qian proposed using guessing-fists to decide the order, and Senior Brother Zheng accepted despite his displeasure.
  • Liu Siyu volunteered to go last as the others prepared to decide who would attempt the formation first.

Ch. 1760Five Elements Array Control

Yan Qingchen began his Five Elements Array Control technique to break the Hidden Reef Formation after the other cultivators failed. The chapter ended as his dark-golden alms bowl responded to the technique with a burst of white light.

  • A cultivator won the chance to try breaking the Hidden Reef Formation first, but he and two others failed over six hours, and Zheng shattered his shoulder with a forceful attempt.
  • Yan Qingchen asked Liu Siyu to try the formation, but she refused because she had found no formation eye and doubted she could succeed.
  • Yan Qingchen explained his Five Elements Array Control method and assigned the others to positions around the formation, saying they would channel spiritual power into his five-element magical treasure.
  • Yan Qingchen summoned a dark-golden alms bowl that triggered a resonance of laws, then formed hand seals and sent dark-green runes into it.
  • After five breaths, the alms bowl's upward-facing mouth erupted with white light.

Ch. 1761Light in Her Eyes

Yan Qingchen tricked four fellow disciples into feeding their spiritual power to his dark-gold bowl, which drained their essence blood and strength. He rescued Liu Siyu from the bowl’s light and stored her away as she lost consciousness, leaving the other three trapped.

  • Yan Qingchen asked Liu Siyu and three other disciples to channel their spiritual power into the dark-gold bowl so he could gather the five elements and break the formation.
  • Liu Siyu urged the others to stop holding back, and the group poured more spiritual power into the bowl as its black and white pillars began to form green and red lights.
  • After drawing the four disciples’ power into the bowl, Yan Qingchen flipped it over and trapped them beneath its pillars, which drained their essence blood and spiritual power.
  • The trapped disciples pleaded with and cursed Yan Qingchen, but he ignored them as their bodies weakened and aged.
  • Yan Qingchen pulled Liu Siyu out of the white pillar and stored her in his storage ring; she briefly regained consciousness, smiled at him, and then passed out.

Ch. 1762Mist Concealing Mist

Yan Qingchen sacrificed three cultivators to force open the Dark Reef Array and entered through the small breach. Six days later, Mingqi and Mingyu, still searching the radiant river for an exit, detected an unusual spatial fluctuation and flew toward it in concealment.

  • Yan Qingchen knocked Liu Siyu unconscious and drained the remaining three captives, then destroyed their bodies and collected their storage artifacts.
  • Yan Qingchen used the dark-golden alms bowl to make a bowl-sized opening in the Dark Reef Array and followed it inside before the breach could close.
  • Six days later, Mingyu told Mingqi that their search along the endless river had found no exit, and Mingqi urged them to keep searching.
  • Mingyu detected an unusual spatial fluctuation downstream, and Mingqi left a marker before deciding they should investigate it.
  • Mingqi and Mingyu flew toward the fluctuation while concealed and separated by about a li, but Mingqi suddenly stopped as they neared it.

Ch. 1763Why Was He Here

Ming Qi and Ming Yu discovered a strange restriction beneath the river and encountered Yan Qingchen, who had launched a hidden attack on them. Yan Qingchen concealed his purpose as all three faced one another across the river.

  • Ming Qi and Ming Yu approached a stretch of river where a restriction concealed powerful activity beneath the riverbed.
  • Ming Qi sensed danger and warned Ming Yu to hide, and both sisters dodged an assassination attempt from the opposite bank.
  • Yan Qingchen revealed himself, and Ming Qi asked why he was in the secret realm.
  • Yan Qingchen recalled that he had found the riverbed entrance three days earlier and had been trying to break its restriction with a dark-gold alms bowl.
  • Yan Qingchen suspected the sisters might have followed him, then decided they had entered through a separate entrance.
  • Yan Qingchen apologized for his strike and greeted the sisters, while Ming Qi secretly warned Ming Yu to be careful of him.

Ch. 1764Letting Go of Hypocrisy

Yan Qingchen fought Ming Qi and Ming Yu with his powerful magic wheels, using pure opposing forces to keep the sisters at a disadvantage. The sisters charged through his attacks, but the wheels’ forces suddenly changed as they drew closer.

  • Yan Qingchen ambushed Ming Qi and Ming Yu, but the sisters joined forces and drove him out of hiding with a fist-and-palm strike.
  • Yan Qingchen summoned his red and black wheel-shaped magic treasures and sent one toward each sister.
  • The sisters caught the wheels with their pale green sashes, but Yan Qingchen’s attacks sent freezing and scorching forces along the sashes toward their hands.
  • The sisters’ yellow defensive dresses protected them, and they pressed forward while Ming Qi warned that they could not let Yan Qingchen keep his distance.
  • As the sisters charged closer, the forces attacking their sashes suddenly changed, shocking them.

Ch. 1765The Eerie Art

Yan Qingchen overwhelmed the Ming sisters with attacks that switched between fire and ice, leaving them badly injured and preparing a desperate escape. Before their plan could unfold, an unseen attacker ambushed Yan Qingchen, and the sisters sensed an opening as his dharma wheels stalled.

  • Yan Qingchen repeatedly switched the attributes of his dharma wheels, injuring the Ming sisters and preventing them from escaping.
  • Ming Qi planned to use “Condensing Marrow into Gang” to knock back Yan Qingchen’s magic treasures while Ming Yu fled.
  • Yan Qingchen sensed a sudden threat and tried to dodge an attack from behind.
  • An attacker emerged from the void and punched through Yan Qingchen’s protective barrier, but Yan Qingchen blocked the blow with his overlapping dharma wheels.
  • The force on Yan Qingchen’s dharma wheels stalled, and Ming Qi immediately sensed the opening.

Ch. 1766A Drastic Shift in the Situation

Mingqi and a hidden gray-robed elder caught Yan Qingchen in a sudden pincer attack, badly injuring him before he escaped with a transmission talisman. Mingqi and Mingyu were left facing the elder, unsure of his identity and motives.

  • Mingqi attacked Yan Qingchen as his spiritual barrier failed, while a hidden assailant struck from behind.
  • Yan Qingchen shattered Mingqi’s first attack with a sonic shriek, but her follow-up broke his ribs as the hidden assailant damaged his natal magical treasures and consciousness.
  • Yan Qingchen crushed a transmission talisman and vanished before Mingyu’s sweeping kick could reach him.
  • Mingqi and Mingyu questioned the gray-robed elder, whose displayed Spirit Transformation cultivation concealed far greater power.
  • The elder asked whether Mingqi and Mingyu belonged to the Undying Nether Phoenix clan.

Ch. 1767Seeing through Their Origins

Li Yan revealed how he had deduced that Mingqi and Mingyu were Undying Underworld Phoenixes after watching their battle with Yan Qingchen. The sisters remained wary and asked whether he knew them, leaving his identity and their true forms unconfirmed.

  • Li Yan explained that the sisters’ yellow robes concealed their true forms and that their speed and white light exposed their use of Phoenix Soaring and Undying Underworld Phoenix power.
  • Li Yan recounted how he had followed Yan Qingchen into the secret realm because he suspected the man belonged to the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect and wanted to learn what he sought beneath the river.
  • After the Ming sisters joined the fight, Li Yan attacked Yan Qingchen, but Yan Qingchen evaded their pincer attack and blocked Li Yan’s strike with a treasure.
  • Li Yan concluded that Mingqi and Mingyu were likely Undying Underworld Phoenixes after recognizing their movements and the power in Mingqi’s palm strike.
  • Mingqi asked Li Yan whether he knew the sisters, while remaining cautious about who he really was.

Ch. 1768An Unconventional Clash (1)

Li Yan questioned the Ming sisters about their origins and their connection to the Undying Nether Phoenix clan, then revealed that he was a Human Race cultivator. The sisters suspected he intended to capture them for their blood essence, but his sudden attack left them confused about what he actually wanted.

  • Li Yan told Ming Qi and Ming Yu to leave, while Ming Qi hinted that she had recognized silver light in his earlier attack.
  • Ming Qi suggested Li Yan had driven Yan Qingchen away so he could keep the sisters and refine their blood essence.
  • Li Yan said he would not provoke powerful races but could keep the sisters if he wished, then appeared to vanish.
  • Ming Qi and Ming Yu launched a full-force counterattack, but a gust of wind left them dizzy and unable to control their power.
  • The sisters' kicks shattered the void and struck empty air, while Li Yan remained standing where he had been.

Ch. 1769An Alternative Confrontation (2)

Li Yan subdued Mingqi and Mingyu with a targeted strike, then chose not to kill them or tamper with their memories because he hoped to make contact with the Undying Nether Phoenix clan. Mingqi and Mingyu realized he had shown mercy and began explaining why they had entered Huangqi Valley, while privately deciding to ask whether he had obtained what their clan sought.

  • Li Yan used his knowledge of the Undying Nether Phoenix to disrupt Mingqi and Mingyu's qi circulation before they could react.
  • Li Yan decided against killing the sisters or searching their souls because he hoped to establish ties with their clan and feared their experts would detect altered memories.
  • Mingqi and Mingyu recovered and thanked Li Yan for sparing them, then said they had entered Huangqi Valley for matters concerning their clan.
  • The sisters secretly weighed whether Li Yan was an ancient cultivator, a Huangqi Valley guardian, or another sect figure, and decided to ask if he had found the item they sought.

Ch. 1770Twists and Turns, Another Peak Appears

Ming Qi and Ming Yu explained that their mixed-blood phoenix clan had sent them to Yellow Qi Valley seeking an Undying Nether Phoenix inheritance, and Li Yan agreed to bring them to a possible hidden passage beneath the river. At the riverbed, he revealed a purple shell concealing a formation and demanded that the sisters try to break it, leaving them confused about why he needed their help.

  • Ming Qi told Li Yan that her clan descended from an Undying Nether Phoenix and an Azure Phoenix, and that they had come to Yellow Qi Valley following clues to a possible inheritance.
  • Ming Qi asked Li Yan to let her and Ming Yu inspect the inheritance, while Ming Yu argued that they sought it to preserve their clan rather than avenge an unrelated clansman.
  • Li Yan questioned what inheritance they expected to find, then agreed to take them to a possible passage beneath the river.
  • Li Yan retrieved Yan Qingchen's warning formations before returning and leading the sisters underwater to a faded purple shell embedded in the river wall.
  • Li Yan told Ming Qi and Ming Yu to break the formation they sensed around the shell, and they were stunned that he wanted them to open it despite having already obtained an immortal opportunity.

Ch. 1771Seeking Benefit Through the Melody

Li Yan, Ming Qi, and Ming Yu signed a blood contract and used the sisters’ clan artifact to open the formation around the purple shell. They entered a sunlit stone chamber and then a bamboo-filled courtyard, where a force blocked their Divine Sense at what appeared to be a dead end.

  • Li Yan offered to divide any treasures equally if Ming Qi and Ming Yu helped break the formation, and the three bound themselves with a blood contract.
  • The sisters and Li Yan set up additional formations against Yan Qingchen’s possible return before Ming Qi and Ming Yu began examining the purple shell.
  • Ming Qi used a clan artifact to open a passage through the formation for about a quarter-hour, then planned to recover before entering.
  • Li Yan and the sisters passed through the opening and emerged in a sunlit stone chamber that appeared to be a cave residence’s main hall.
  • The three left the chamber and followed a stone path through a bamboo courtyard until they found a courtyard wall that blocked their Divine Sense.

Ch. 1772Layers Upon Layers of Space

Li Yan and the Ming sisters explored an isolated courtyard linked to an ancient inheritance site, but found its rooms stripped bare. As they reached a gate opening onto abandoned spirit fields, a strange one-legged scarecrow appeared and blocked their way.

  • Ming Qi warned Li Yan that the courtyard wall hid a dangerous spatial boundary, so they decided to search the other rooms first.
  • Yan Qingchen returned toward the river after healing, realized he had been trapped in a looping stretch of scenery, and turned back toward the array barrier.
  • Li Yan entered the isolated space in his true body, hoping to find the Luminous Moon Clear Immortal Grass for Bai Rou and intending to kill Yan Qingchen.
  • Li Yan and the Ming sisters searched the rooms and rear courtyard but found them nearly empty, with only dried pools and overgrown spirit fields beyond the gate.
  • A bizarre straw-covered figure appeared in the archway, startling Li Yan and the sisters and blocking their path.

Ch. 1773True or Illusion

Li Yan and the Ming sisters were caught in a terrifying straw-man assault that vanished, revealing the courtyard was an enclosed magical treasure rather than an ordinary formation. After investigating the boundary, Li Yan returned with a grave expression and led them back toward the main hall, leaving them to face the possibility that they were trapped.

  • More than twenty straw men appeared and unleashed a dense barrage of Void Refinement attacks, forcing Li Yan, Ming Qi, and Ming Yu to retreat and raise their defenses.
  • The attacks abruptly disappeared without damaging the courtyard, and Ming Qi suspected they had been caught in an illusion.
  • Ming Yu tested the ground and concluded that the courtyard was sealed inside a magical treasure, while Ming Qi flew upward and found a powerful barrier about a hundred li overhead.
  • Li Yan independently tested the barrier, then secretly used the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief against it while the sisters waited below.
  • After half an hour, Li Yan returned and said the place was indeed a magical treasure, then flew toward the main hall as the sisters realized they might be trapped.

Ch. 1774Straw Encirclement

Li Yan, Ming Qi, and Ming Yu investigated whether the rear courtyard’s scarecrow attacks were real, testing them while keeping a wary eye on one another. They confirmed the attacks were tangible and confined to the courtyard, but the powerful barrage left them with no clear way to escape or break the trap.

  • Ming Qi concluded that the hall might be a one-way trap, while Li Yan suggested the rear courtyard could be part of a sect formation or illusion.
  • Ming Yu proposed approaching the circular archway while Ming Qi tested the scarecrows’ attacks from a safe distance, and Li Yan agreed not to interfere.
  • Ming Yu triggered the restriction at the archway, where a scarecrow appeared before more scarecrows emerged and attacked her with a storm of straw.
  • Ming Yu fled to the front courtyard as Ming Qi cast a spell into the barrage and severed her connection to it; Li Yan retreated with them.
  • Ming Qi judged that the attack was real and reached at least the early Void Refinement realm, then warned that escaping after engaging the scarecrows would be difficult.

Ch. 1775The Addictive Trap

Li Yan, Ming Yu, and Ming Qi tested answers to the straw man’s question, but every response triggered another attack, leaving them exhausted and trapped in a cycle of false hope. Li Yan finally searched the courtyard’s other boundaries for an exit and began inspecting the southern wall, whose far side seemed to hold endless darkness.

  • Li Yan proposed that answering the straw man’s question might prevent its attack, but Ming Yu’s answer was followed immediately by another assault.
  • Ming Qi and Li Yan tried many different answers while testing the courtyard’s walls, but each attempt brought another wave of attacks and no escape.
  • After three days of repeated failures, Li Yan told Ming Yu and Ming Qi to rest and search elsewhere, warning that the question had become addictive.
  • The next day, Li Yan found Ming Yu still returning to answer the question while Ming Qi searched the rooms, so he went to inspect the southern wall.
  • Li Yan cleared bamboo from the southern wall and examined it closely, sensing an immense darkness beyond it unlike the visible scenery past the northern archway.
Arc 71 of 126